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NASB | John 12:32 "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself." |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | John 12:32 "And I, if and when I am lifted up from the earth [on the cross], will draw all people to Myself [Gentiles, as well as Jews]." |
Subject: Kathy, Is "Lifting His name" Biblical? |
Bible Note: Hello, Steve aka Indiana Jones...and all other participants on this thread -- Shamefully, the two threads -- let's call them the "lift up" threads -- have deteriorated so much. From an original simple exegesis of the meaning of "lifted up" in John 12:32, the threads have gone awry. The discussions have moved far from the original subject, i.e., the proper exegesis of John 12:32, so that now they are talking about whether it is "scriptural" to use "lift up" the name of Christ in the sense of praising His name, adoring Him, worshiping Him, exalting Him as Savior and Lord of our lives. The "lifted up" in John 12:32 means what it says in a very literal sense. Christ used the phrase "If I be lifted up" to indicate the death He would die on the Cross. Now the discussion has abandoned that meaning of "lifted up" and gone to a figurative meaning of "lifting up" the name of Jesus in praise and adoration. In the process, the threads have deteriorated to the point of accusing those of us who first ventured to exegete the proper meaning of "lifted up" in the original passage of having minds and hearts so fossilized, as it were, that we accept no other possible meaning of "lift up" in any other context than that given in Jesus' words in John 12:32. This is nonsense. It is both inaccurate and unfair to engage in mean insinuations and innuendos intended to make those of us who gave the proper exegesis of the meaning of "lifted up" in John 12:32 look foolish and inane, and cause it to appear that we don't know the difference between the two ways in which "lifted up" has been used in these threads. If to "lift up" the name of Christ to the world is used as a synonym for praising His name, exalting His name above every name, or in some manner to express adulation and awe for the holy name of Jesus Christ, wherewith can any Christian believer find reason to oppose this free and humble expression of love for the Savior? Again, for the sake of emphasis and clarity, I hold firm to the exegesis I've heretofore advanced for the meaning of "lifted up" in John 12:32, which is in no way akin to the term "lift up" the name of Jesus in praise and adoration, the sense in which it is used in the choruses of praise and worship. The church of which I'm a member uses the very chorus you cite in your post, Steve. ...... Before we hasten to resort to name calling, let me enjoin everyone on this thread to be sure he knows what the issue is and what the position of his assumed adversaries before he jumps to conclusions about them and indulges in the unkind practice of judgmental name calling and unwarranted criticism. These two threads in my view have strung along too far and have veered so far off course that the kindest thing any of us can do to end the embarrassment to ourselves and the Forum is to end both of these loose-cannon threads without further ado. --Hank |